Today, for Veterans Day, I thought I’d share my little bit about why I painted “Freedom,” a trompe l’oeil painting of a monarch butterfly cookie that I baked and decorated in real life (and quite well!). It’s always difficult to convey what a painting truly is just by showing it online. For as many photos or videos that I show, I can’t adequately convey how much thought went into a painting, or how many hours to get it to look just a bit magical.
If you’ve followed my work for any length of time, you probably already know a bit about my painting process, especially for my trompe l’oeil cookie and gingerbread pieces. I’ll link some other blog pieces that include more about my process at the bottom of this post. But right now, I just want to talk about the thought that went into the piece and why I love it.
This little trompe l’oeil painting is currently on the wall of my studio.
A couple of months ago, I decided to make a cozy little corner in the front room of my house as my actual “studio.” It’s the first stage of converting that entire room into a fully functioning studio space for myself, but this was a good start. It also makes for a good space for me to paint during my Twitch live streams.
I didn’t want to paint on Twitch in front of a green screen or some other doctored space. I decided instead to hang some of my paintings behind me. It’s not a fully completed wall, but I do have to say that every time I come into that little corner of the world, it lifts my spirits. Many of the works on the wall are my trompe l’oeil cookie and gingerbread pieces, and they are nothing short of magical — colorful, illusionary, uplifting.
One of these paintings is currently “Freedom.” I plan to rotate the pieces out as they sell or go out to shows, etc., but for now, I’m quite happy to enjoy them. “Freedom” is the smallest trompe l’oeil painting there, but it is oh-so-impactful. First, it looks convincingly three-dimensional — not too shabby, if I do say so myself. It is also a constant reminder of certain things in my life that keep me going. Let’s talk about why I called it “Freedom.”
The Concept Behind the “Freedom” Painting
This is my grandpap, on the left. He fought in World War II. He was drafted when he was just 18. He came from an immigrant family. He worked his whole life as a coal miner, and he loved his family and his vegetable garden.
I wanted to show him to you so you would know he was a real person. He lived. He created his own little life with my grandma. They enjoyed their little homestead and canned their vegetables each winter. They rarely traveled beyond their property except for small excursions. Pap was happy, and he’d be the first to tell you that this was the life he fought for, so that everyone could have the right to live a simple happy life.
I knew that I wanted to use one of my butterfly cookies for a trompe l’oeil painting. After all, I was so proud that I was able to decorate them so well! Here’s what I didn’t want: I didn’t want it to look like a scientific specimen. Those have always bothered me. Maybe it’s because I have great respect and love for animals and nature. What I wanted was to make it look like this monarch butterfly was ready to fly off the panel. Monarch butterflies are known for amazing traits like independence, resilience and rebirth. I wanted this butterfly to look like it was leading the viewer off the panel, to freedom.
To do this, I created a swoop of frosting beginning from the right and swooping down to the left. I then turned the butterfly cookie to the right, not as a scientific specimen which is usually vertical. The positioning implied motion and the butterfly fighting against the direction of the frosting swoop to escape to its freedom. Who knew cookies and frosting could have so much depth, right?
You can find the monarch butterfly cookies in a few of my other trompe l’oeil paintings. I’ll probably continue to use them. Just know that they are always implying some sort of “Freedom,” either for the subject of the painting, themselves or the viewer.
On this Veterans Day, I hope you’ll take a minute to just honor and remember all of the amazing lives that fought for every single person in our country and beyond, so that we all could enjoy our rights and freedoms. Oh, and I hope the “freedom” trompe l’oeil painting made you smile! That’s always my goal.
You can purchase the original “Freedom” painting on my website here.
Mini Prints of “Freedom” are available here.
Watch the painting process for “Freedom” here.
For more information about my Cookie and Gingerbread Paintings, check out these posts:
- Three Videos of My Paintings that Recently Went Viral on TikTok
- Three Reasons I Wish You Could See My New Paintings in Person and Not Online
- Exploring the Details of the Trompe L’Oeil Painting “The Daydreamer”
- Painting “Beautiful Day in the Gingerbread Neighborhood” Part 1
- Designing “Beautiful Day in the Gingerbread Neighborhood” Part 2
- Process for “Beautiful Day in the Gingerbread Neighborhood” Part 3
- Painting “Sing”, My Whimsical Songbird Cookie Trompe L’Oeil Painting
- Loving My Trompe L’Oeil Painting “Freedom” – November 11, 2026
- New Cake Paintings Are Coming — Special Preview of the First Four Nostalgic Pieces – November 9, 2026
- Showing 40-Plus Years of My Art on Twitch Today: Proof that Artists Can Progress… – July 24, 2026
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